The Kite Runner Symbolism Essay

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Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel, The Kite Runner, is a novel initially set in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Kite Runner addresses volatile issues in Islamic culture such as racism, class systems, and oppression, while also expanding on universal human themes such as friendship, guilt, and redemption. The novel gives insight into the multifaceted relationships and psychological impact of Amir, the privileged son, who only seems to have a charmed life. Hosseini’s novel is rich with beautiful imagery and settings. The Kite Runner tells a tale of human experience, a slice of life, where evil exists in the world and shows the dark sins found in humanity; yet, resonates with the power of redemption and hope. Hosseini’s effective use of symbolism throughout The Kite runner empowers these thematic messages. The kite is one such symbol.
Kites are generally considered by society to represent freedom and carefree fluidity. The color Blue has a negative color language of depression, materialism, and loss. In the beginning of the novel, a kite tournament in Kabul becomes the desperately desired key to finally obtain his father’s love. This is the blue kite’s initial symbolism; the only key to a meaningful, close relationship with Baba, Amir’s father. “All I saw was the blue kite. All I smelled was victory. Salvation. Redemption” (65) Although Amir wins the kite tournament; he must also bring back the last fallen kite. Hassan, his bosom mate who is a Hazara, an oppressed subclass in Afghanistan, runs the kite for Amir, “For you a thousand times over” (67, 371), Hassan states.
Tragically, Amir condones Hassan’s rape all in the name of desperately obtaining this valuable kite, and Amir’s psyche is permanently changed. “In the end, I ran…He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he?” (77) “I saw Hassan get raped” (86) “There was a monster in the lake…I was that monster” (76). To Amir, the kite was once considered to be akin to the Holy Grail, but had now become a constant reminder of his...